Thursday, February 23, 2012

ETA: Bobbi is the winner !
*****
Are you looking forward to spring as much as I am?? Spring is my favorite season. I look forward to putting away my winter clothes & getting my spring clothes out of hibernation.

To enter the giveaway, you must have a USA shipping address, if you do then leave a separate comment for each of these:
:: first 'Like' Shabby Apple on Facebook (you must do this step to be eligible) & come back here to tell me you Like Shabby Apple
:: then visit Shabby Apple & come back & leave me a comment saying which Shabby Apple dress or item is your favorite (this one is optional, but will give you a 2nd chance to enter)

Giveaway will run until Wednesday February 29th @ 8 PM CST. I'll pick a winner & contact that person.

:: one yard projects are a great concept ~ when you think about it most fabrics cost under $10 per yard, so here you have a book of 101 projects that you can create each costing at most $10 to make... such a deal !

Monday, February 20, 2012

Just a quick wrap-up here for you... a little bit about some of the details of the Cute as a Button look with some links on helpful how-tos. Then I'll be back again with some more posts about 2011 craft books.

About this McCall 6568 sewing pattern (from 1946) I used ~ have you ever used a sewing pattern from around 1946 ? Sewing patterns today are a bit different, I think back then they assumed you had some average sewing skills, so they didn't give all the details. Where with Oliver+S sewing patterns you learn how to sew along with the sewing pattern. Other discoveries were back in 1946 it appears 35" & 54" were standard for fabric. They didn't have iron on facing, so all facing had to be hand basted. Sewing machines didn't have the zigzag stitch, so all buttonholes had to be hand sewn. Ah, the modern day conveniences we have today & probably take for granted. I mentioned a lot of details in a previous post, sorry for some repetition... for this pattern I add little pleats in the sleeves at the shoulders, put the buttons on the other side (my daughter is left-handed), & more details:

This coat is quite short ~ hitting about mid-thigh. I wanted a more modern look, having the coat fall to the knee. I added 2 inches in length to 6 different pattern pieces between the waist & hem, click on 'How to lengthen a sewing pattern' to learn how to do that.

The Little Cap pattern by Leila & Ben is adorable & the pattern is for a girl or a boy... to make the cap more feminine & to make it coordinate with the rest of the outfit, I added these details:
I cut off 1.5 inches of the bottom of the cap & added a band that was 2 inches thick (with 1/4 inch seam allowances on top & bottom). A 1/2 inch grey bias trim sewn in middle & the elastic on the back of the cap was on the lining only.

For the drop waist skirt, the top band was a little less than 4 inches by 13 inches (take child's waist divide by 2 & add an inch or more).
The back I made an elastic waist, but you could do the same drop waist in the back then add your favorite type of closure (zipper, buttons, etc).
I put 5 inverted pleats, nothing was measured, nothing was perfect, then in between each pleat I added one or two tiny pleats & that's how you get the messy pleats look ~ so easy !
Keep adding pleats until it matches the same width as the top band.
Add 2 fabric covered buttons off to one side of the top band.

So the original plan for the shirt was a light pink lace shirt, but it wasn't coming together perfectly, so I had to quickly come up with a plan B, so in my 'make it work' moment I produced a white shirt before the deadline.
I picked up this size 10 dress for $3 at a rummage sale last summer, too big for my 4 yr old. To make it into a shirt, I took it in at the sides, cut if off below the waist, took off the buttons & added fabric covered buttons.
I made a fabric flower pin with leftover scrap fabric to cover the shirt logo.

It has been fun creating clothing items for the Project Run & Play sew along & although I didn't win for the signature look, I was just thrilled to have been chosen to be in the top 5. Thanks everyone for your kind words, support, & votes for my Cute as a Button entry ! They were much appreciated :)

How I achieved this in my sew along finale look:
1) I repurposed a white dress (girls size 10) into a white shirt (girls size 4)
2) cute buttons on all 4 separates that tie the whole look together
3) I made adjustments to a vintage pattern McCall 6568 Child's Coat from 1946
4) my daughter's favorite color is pink

We live in Minnesota where wearing a jacket (or outerwear in general) is a given 3 out of the 4 seasons of the year, so I wanted to sew a coat. At a local vintage shop I found McCall 6568 Child's Coat from 1946 size 4 (original price was only $.35! I paid $2.00)

Adjustments made to pattern:

:: In 1946 it appears that little girls worn coats that were quite short ~ hitting about mid-thigh. I wanted a more modern look, having the coat fall to the knee. I did this by lengthening the coat 2 inches, not by just adding 2 inches at the hem, but by lengthening 6 different pattern pieces by 2 inches (& making the necessary adjustments) in between the waist & hem.

:: I added on seam side pockets.

:: I added several little pleats on the sleeves at the shoulders (giving a more feminine look).

:: I cut off some of the bottom of the cap & in it's place added a band with a ribbon-like trim (made out of homemade bias tape) topped with one cute little button to one side of the brim (giving it a feminine look).

A couple little notes to add...
:: I could have started Monday (Feb 6th), but I didn't start until Saturday (Feb 11th).
:: All along the way I changed my mind a gazillion times.
:: And in case anyone was wondering that's a 1952 Singer 301 black sewing machine.
:: I hope to have the details on how I put all of this together soon.